LARAMIE, Wyoming — Wyoming coach Craig Bohl is going old school in signing his second recruiting class that leans toward defense.

Of the 23 prospects Bohl signed to national letters of intent on Wednesday, 14 are defensive players.

They include five defensive backs, five linebackers and four defensive linemen.

"We just looked at the style of play in the league, and we felt we were very deficient, not only in depth, but also speed and athleticism," Bohl said.

Wyoming went 4-8 in Bohl's first season as head coach. Opposing teams averaged 32.8 points a game and nearly 431 yards per game against the Cowboys.

Bohl said Wyoming's defensive backs didn't match up well with opposing wide receivers last season.

In addition, he said the special teams gave up too many scores and yards on punt and kickoff returns last season.

On the offensive side of the ball, Bohl landed Parade All-American running back Kellen Overstreet, of Hamilton, Missouri.

In addition, he signed two players from within Wyoming — linebacker Josh Harshman and safety Logan Wilson. Both are out of Natrona County High School. Harshman is the son of Natrona head coach Steve Harshman.

Bohl said his coaching experience has found that in-state players tend to put a little more drive and determination into their home state school.

"We need to have more young men that are playing for the University of Wyoming instead of at the University of Wyoming," he said.

Bohl said his staff searched for prospects that met the "Wyoming profile," which he said historically at Wyoming have been student-athletes focused on earning a degree and winning a Mountain West Conference championship.

"We were very intentional with these guys, we were very upfront, we let them know what we were looking for," he said.

All but two of the 23 new players are high school recruits. The other two, a quarterback and a defensive end, are junior college transfers.